LEGAL SERVICES AGENCY FILLS A VOID FOR THE POOR

CHARLESTON -- Amid controversy, Warren Hearnes on March 19, 1981, assumed the executive directorship of Southeast Missouri Legal Services Inc., a federally funded program that provides civil services to the poor.

Hearnes' hiring was controversial because a majority of its board of directors wanted to change the approach used in representing its low-income clients and wanted Hearnes to implement the change. Instead of using the traditional practice of staff lawyers representing clients, the board wanted a judicare program, whereby the agency contracted lawyers to represent clients at reduced fees.

Hearnes also was controversial because, despite a distinguished career in public service that included eight years as Missouri governor, he had no experience providing legal services to low-income people.

A search committee from the 20-member board of directors met with Hearnes in Sikeston and convinced him to take over the agency. They liked Hearnes' administrative experience and knew that after eight years as governor he could handle the heat that would go with the change.

Hearnes was hired on an 11-8 vote, and within five months the regional legal services office in Chicago called for his dismissal after he began implementing the change.

"It was terrible at first," said Hearnes. "I was wondering what I had gotten into. The people who were in the regional office did not favor what the board wanted to do; they wanted to keep the staff system. There was great opposition to hiring me as executive director. There was a lot of feuding and fussing."

Although the judicare approach was tough to implement, Hearnes said that was the best way to provide legal services to the poor, and the only approach he was interested in using.

"The board wanted it done and they hired me to do it," said Hearnes.

Legal services offices in Sikeston, Caruthersville and Poplar Bluff were closed, and about 100 lawyers were enlisted to provide legal services at reduced fees.

The end result was that, instead of having lawyers at three offices, lawyers are called upon throughout the 12-county area the corporation serves, and clients are served by more experienced lawyers.

"Before, the most experienced attorney I had was two years," said Hearnes. "Now we have people just out of law school and some who have been out for many years like I have," said Hearnes. "With the judicare approach we can handle more cases and get more experienced attorneys."

In 1981, with the staff system, the agency handled 600 cases. Today the agency handles 4,000 per year and maintains 2,000 active cases.

John Cook, a Cape Girardeau lawyer who served on the board from 1979-90, said he and other board members didn't think the staff-lawyer approach was as effective for low-income people as it could have been. He was a proponent of the change.

"It was very controversial, and it worked out beautifully," said Cook. "We felt using judicare, having attorneys at local levels and no overhead for several offices, we could provide higher quality service at lower costs. Instead of inexperienced attorneys without broad experience, we used attorneys with experience who know how to get a lot done in a short time."

Hearnes and Cook said a real asset of the judicare approach is that low-income people have access to well-qualified, experienced lawyers, just as anyone else has.

Said Cook: "Frankly, an attorney practicing in the real world is a lot more results-oriented than career social services attorneys, who often felt that making the fight was more important than getting results. But the poor person with a legal problem wants to get that problem resolved quickly. That person is not concerned about the principles involved.

"Our experience has been that local attorneys who take these cases, treat legal services clients exactly like they do a regular client."

Cook praised Hearnes for turning the organization around as the board wanted. He said Hearnes' lack of experience as a legal aid lawyer has not been a problem with his effectiveness.

"We hired Warren Hearnes because he is an administrator," said Cook. "I never saw such a turnaround in a program. We suddenly started providing twice as much legal service at half the cost, because he knows how to run and administrate a program."

Today, the agency handles four times as many cases with less money using the judicare program. Despite the success in Southeast Missouri, the concept is still the exception rather than the rule in legal aid programs around the country.

"Judicare is used more than it was, but probably not as much as it should be," said Hearnes. "But it is not my business; that is up to the local people to decide."

Cook said that for 15 years the National Legal Services Board has encouraged the judicare approach, but the internal bureaucracy of the organization is committed to the staff-lawyer approach.

"We used to go to national conferences and show how many cases we were opening and closing and what the cost was," said Cook. "Our results were just startling compared to everyone else, but we were looked on as outcasts because we don't have a staff system."

The corporation, based in Charleston, has a staff of one lawyer and four clerical employees working under Hearnes. The agency receives about $52,000 each month from the federal government to operate.

Operations are overseen by the board of directors, which is comprised of 12 lawyers in its service region, members selected by agencies in the area to represent legal aid clients, and one non-lawyer. Board chairman is Walter S. Drusch of Cape Girardeau.

Lawyers who serve as legal aid lawyers volunteer to be part of the program and sign agreements with Southeast Missouri Legal Services that outline fees. Hearnes explained that the bar association encourages lawyers to do a certain amount of pro bono work, and this provides that opportunity. In many instances, clients are represented at a third of their basic prices, so the difference is considered pro bono work.

Lawyers are paid either a fixed fee or at a rate of $35 an hour, and there is a maximum that can be charged.

Clients are represented based on federal poverty guidelines established for the area. Legal aid lawyers do not handle criminal cases or cases that could be fee generating such as personal injury.

"We do the bread-and-butter cases -- Social Security cases, landlord-tenant matters, bankruptcy, domestic relations, juvenile cases, paternity suits," said Hearnes.

In most cases clients go to a lawyer in their home county, which makes it much more convenient and reduces costs of providing the service. Of the counties served, only Perry County doesn't have lawyers participating. Clients there must go to Jackson.

Other counties in the service area are Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Mississippi, Scott, New Madrid, Stoddard, Pemiscot, Dunklin, Ripley, Butler and Carter.

From his stormy takeover, Hearnes said he is satisfied that the agency is quietly going about its mission of providing low-income people access to the legal system with qualified representation.

"I think it is working well, and my board thinks it is," said Hearnes. He said the federal monitoring team that checks performance of the program is also satisfied.

Today, the judicare approach is widely accepted around the region, and is no longer controversial.

Said Hearnes: "We think this approach is better in Southeast Missouri. The judges like it better and the lawyers like it better. We think it is the best approach for the clients."